I’ve been attempting to continue the “Pieces of Formation” series all week, and here it is — Thursday — and I still haven’t been able to do it.

At first it was because of the Newtown shooting. I couldn’t just return to “business as usual” on the blog here, churning out a post per day like usual fare. I felt the Newtown Meditation ought to suffice for an extra day or two.

Then it was because of the truth of where I am. I’m in a time of discernment about 2013 and how it concerns this space. When I think of the 12 months ahead, I have a substantial pile of ideas I’m holding in my cupped hands before God.

Off the top of my head, there are at least 8 ideas in the mix. All of them have to do with going deeper. Much deeper than any singular blog post — or string of blog posts, for that matter — can go.

And so I’m holding them in my cupped hands. In silence. Listening.

This formation series is in the mix of those ideas. I’ve loved picking up the many pieces that exist in our formation, finding together the ways we’ve been uniquely formed by them throughout our lives. There is still so much to say and discover about these pieces. I want to serve you well in that regard.

To do that, for now, I’ve decided to close up the series in its current incarnation. I’m trusting that the discovery and examination of pieces will continue a bit later, in a way that will (I hope) serve you even better. I cannot wait to do that with you.

I’ll be going quiet on Still Forming through the holidays, not just for the holidays’ sake but also to honor this discernment process I’m in.